Gluten free cupcakes with strawberry buttercream

Juls’ Kitchen is a democratic blog and, therefore, it complies with the majority.

Yesterday I gave my followers on Twitterand Facebookthe chance to choose today’s recipe (by the way, if you are not, follow me on my pages. They are quick channels to receive updates and sneak peaks). Fresh pasta or cupcakes was the question. Fresh pasta held out to the end, but in the last minutes the cupcakes have marked the final victory, with a 54% of the votes. Then, cupcakes for everyone (but you, fresh pasta supporters, do not despair! There are two upcoming recipes for you!)

Those who chose cupcakes remarked that they wanted something colourful, fresh, suitable for early spring days. I made something special. The cakes are gluten free, strong, masculine, with the bitter aroma of cocoa powder and the strength of quinoa. They have a crumbly texture, dotted with oatmeal. The frosting is a feminine quirk, sugary and soft, a fruity buttercream.

They remind me of yin e yang, masculine and feminine, earth and air, opposites that attract and complement each other. A dark and wintry branch awakening to the new season gently covered with delicate flower buds. They show such an unusual character that I feared they could not be fully appreciated, but…

I made 16 cupcakes, decorated with pink buttercream and a sprinkle of sugar, a trace of fairy dust, last sign of a spell cast on them. I chose embroidered lace paper cases, and I put them in our second fridge. Yes, the second: since I started writing a foodblog, along with putting on a few more curves and searching in vain for Mary Poppins’ trunk, to put away my hasty purchases, I have also a second fridge in the pantry, where I can store in a safe place special ingredients and dishes before taking pictures of them.

Led by a voyeuristic attitude that characterizes my relationship with my most successful recipes, every now and then I open the fridge door to contemplate the masterpiece and gloat. And my 14 cupcakes are still there. I close the fridge door calmly. Wait. Fourteen? One, two, …, seven, …, thirteen and fourteen. It doesn’t figure. Muuuum! have you seen the cupcakes I put in the fridge? – Yes. So nice! They are also good, what are they made of? Go figure I feared they wouldn’t appreciate my cupcakes!

I found the recipe for the gluten free cupcakes at La Tartine Gourmande, inspired by this Beatrice Peltre‘s delicious recipe: Beatrice is a daily example both for her pictures – flawless with a warm home feeling – and her capacity to transform into a story any moment or recipe, even the most simple. Give her a handful of lentils and some celery and she’ll make poetry from this! The buttercream recipe comes instead from Mowie‘ blog, Mowielicious, Mr dessert.

CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients for 16 cupcakes:

Dry ingredients:

140 g millet flour

40 g quinoa flour

40 g rice flour

70 g quinoa flakes*

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 baking soda

* I wasn’t able to find quinoa flakes, so I used rolled oat flakes, but, as they rightly point out, they are not suitable for coeliac people.

Liquid ingredients:

3 eggs

110 g caster sugar

115 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

100 g buttermilk

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine in a large bowl all the dry ingredients.

Whip the eggs with the sugar until light, than whisk in the melted butter and the buttermilk. Mix in the dry ingredients, but pay attention not to overstir the batter.

Fill the muffin cases to the 3/4 and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Remove from the moulds and let them cool completely.

Buttercream ingredients:

150g unsalted butter

300 g icing sugar

50 ml double cream

1 tbs strawberry syrup

1 drop of red food colouring

Whisk the butter and icing sugar until crumbly, then add the double cream, the food colouring and the strawberry syrup, then whisk until smooth. Place the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe swirls onto the tops of the cakes.

Put them in the fridge and remove them at least 30 minutes before you’re going to eat them, to give time to the cakes to get soft and crumbly again.

@ Sanjeeta kk: the texture is very interesting, not the usual texture you would expect form a cupcakes and, in my opinion, this is what makes them so good!
@ Soma: indeed, I tried the recipe just because it was Bea’s recipe! 😉
@ Julie: thank you! it was my aim, so thank you twice!
@ Rosa: spring is in the air
@ Joy: me too! but asfter all this was my first time with Bea’s recipe!
@ Torviewtoronto: yes! that was an apricot tree, and almond trees have blooms already!
@ Kulsum: thank you for stopping by
@ Bianca: don’t worry, pasta will follow very soon!
@ Christine: haha! no problem, I’d save a cupcake for you, too!
@ Joy: thanks!
@ Katerina: indeed, I have the feeling that this is the most sparkling spring ever!

Waow, beautiful cupcakes and pictures! They both show the lightness and happiness of spring! It’s been a few days I am searching for a gluten-free recipe… As I have amaranth flour to use, I suppose it could be a substitute for the quinoa flour? What do you think? Thanks.

@ Harriet: usually I used to make savoury tart with quinoa flour, I love the rustic texture they get. In this case the texture was less rustic, but crumbly and strong. As regard the papers, search on the Wilton web site! 😉
@ Sweet Artichoke: I’ve never baked with amaranth flour, but I’d give it a go, why not?! let me know the result! Happy baking! x

@ Debbie: I love it as a grain as well! delicious in healthy salads!
@ Jeannie: thank you so much!
@ Sidiqa Sohail: the contrast is what makes them s interesting!
@ Junia: a delicious combo indeed!
@ Rachel: oh! fresh strawberries! so good in buttercream!

[…] is a promise: after the first Juls’ Kitchen on demand I posted the spring-like recipes for buttercream cupcakes to comply with the majority, but I said as well that fresh pasta would have come soon, and here we […]